I’d spent the first few weeks of my maternity leave trying to induce labour naturally- acupressure, spicy food, sex- the usual, there was no way i was being medically induced. However on Wednesday 18th May I woke up and decided that all these remedies were in vain and the baby would come when it was ready. I decided to enjoy the free time I had left and let go of the fear of being induced, leaving it down to fate.
Fortunately fate was on my side and at 2am the following morning at 39 +5 I woke with period pains and decided to get up. After about half an hour I realised I was potentially in labour and started timing my contractions. At 6am after a lovely warm shower I woke my husband (he now admits he didn’t believe I was actually in labour, as performing a lower back rub seemed to soothed the discomfort).
Russ (my husband) ran me a bath, switched on the positive affirmations MP3’s and generally guided me through each surge with key words and phrases we’d discussed before hand.
At 7.30am Russ called the hospital, by now surges were 3 minutes apart but only lasting 20 seconds. I was advised to stay at home until they reached a minute long but I had concerns about the babies movements so we headed to the hospital for monitoring. Once plugged up to the machines, my
Husband commented on how the machine spiked every time I experienced a surge- at this point he realised I really was in labour! The baby’s movements and heart beat were good and surges were consistent and regular.
I was admitted to the ward after an examination revealed I was 3cm dilated. I was given prearranged antibiotics to counteract the GBS I had tested positive for while pregnant.
The midwife looking after us had never experienced a hypnobirth before but read the birth preferences and followed every request perfectly. My husband dimmed the lights, put the MP3s on repeat and performed the light touch massage on me through each surge. At the next examination the midwife was surprised to find I was 6cm and an hour or so later my waters broke.
Baby and I were monitored throughout labour, we both had consistently good heart rates.
My surges soon changed and I lent over the back of the bed and started to concentrate on my birth breathing, while my husband encouraging me to bear down and breath through it. It was the part of birth process I felt I had the least control over. However even at this lowest point, pain relief did not even enter the equation. My mind raced but half way through, Liz’s words of calmness pierced my growing fear and I managed to take back control. Before I knew it I was back in the zone and the head was out. My husband exclaimed “it has your nose and my lips”. One push later and I was holding my baby in my arms.
Unfortunately Ralph was struggling to breathe at birth due to a chest infection and was rushed to the neonatal unit where he recovered well. I stayed calm and logical throughout the whole ordeal asking questions and finding out as much information as I could. The hospital staff were absolutely amazing and 36 hours later our boy was, where he belonged, next to me on the hospitals transitional ward.
We can’t even come to imagine what implications pain relief medication may have had on our already weakened baby boy. We cannot thank Liz or the hypnobirthing community for the wonderfully calm birth experience we were lucky enough to share.